Tech
EA is finally launching Plants vs. Zombies 3
/ The game’s long-awaited third installment is launching in select countries.
Apple Overtakes Samsung As Biggest Smartphone Maker
Samsung has held the top spot among the world’s smartphone manufacturers for over a decade. After 12 years of its reign, however, the South Korean company has been knocked out of the lead by Apple.According to data shared by the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple sold 234.6 million units in 2023, accounting for just over a fifth of the global smartphone market at 20.1%. Samsung, meanwhile, sold 226.6 million units, which equates to 19.4% of the market share.“The last time a company not named Samsung was at the top of the smartphone market was 2010, and for 2023 it is now Apple,” IDC said. “A sort of shifting of power at the top of the largest consumer electronics market was driven by an all-time high market share for Apple and a first time at the top.”Overall, the IDC reported tha...
Samsung Announces its Latest Galaxy S24 Series of Smartphones
Fresh off the back of a busy CES 2024, South Korean tech giant Samsung is showing no signs of slowing down and has today announced its newest generation of smartphones – the Galaxy S24 series.The Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 mark the latest flagship devices from the South Korean manufacturer and usher in a "new era of how smartphones work", according to a company spokesperson. All three of the new phones are powered by the latest chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy which – if you haven't already guessed from the name – has been customized for Samsung and is arguably the most powerful mobile phone chip currently available. In fact, according to benchmarking platform NanoReview, the base model Qualcomm chip used in the new Samsung S24 Ultra (even before ...
Netflix’s app won’t work on the Vision Pro
/ You’ll have to log in on the web to watch Netflix on Apple’s $3,499 headset. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple’s Vision Pro headset won’t have a dedicated Netflix app at launch, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The streaming giant reportedly doesn’t plan to launch an app specifically for Apple’s headset, nor does it want to make its iPad app compatible with the platform. The move means users won’t be able to watch Netflix in a dedicated app — like the other streaming services that have announced support for the headset, in...
Samsung Unpacks Its New Galaxy AI Feature
Artificial intelligence is all the wave in the world of smartphones.
Music streaming platforms must pay artists more, says EU
/ The European Parliament wants to ensure performers in the music streaming industry are paid and promoted fairly, compared to top record labels and popular artists. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>The European Parliament has made its case — now, it’s up to the European Commission to decide whether to initiate legislation proceedings.
Amazon’s latest Fire TVs can now use AI to generate custom art backgrounds
/ If you want a truly unique background on your Fire TV, Alexa can now do it. Here’s how to use the new image-generation feature. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Amazon Back at its fall hardware event, Amazon announced that AI artwork generation would be coming to its Fire TV Omni QLED televisions and the second-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Max. And now, the feature has begun rolling out to those products in the US, giving owners a way to create a custom background using an Alexa voice prompt. You can say something like “Alexa, create a background of a medieval castle on Mars,” and...
Apple’s App Store policies now let US developers link to outside payments
/ Apple is still taking its 27 percent cut, even if users buy digital goods and services from a website linked from within an app. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration: The Verge Apple has updated its App Store policies to spell out how developers can link to outside payment platforms, as reported by 9to5Mac. Developers will still owe Apple a cut if they use an outside payment platform. Apple will take a 27 percent cut (as opposed to the 30 percent in many cases) or 12 percent if a developer is part of the App Store Small Business Program, according to a support page about...
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 preorder still comes with a $50 credit — for one more day
/ Plus, we found big discounts on a mopping Roomba, Samsung’s SmartTag 2, the DJI Pocket 2, and more. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S24 series tomorrow, January 17th. If you’ve caught up on our coverage of all the rumored changes and know you’ll be upgrading upon release, you might as well reserve one. There’s no payment due today for doing so, and you’ll be rewarded with a $50...
Supreme Court Declines To Hear Apple, Epic Games’ Appeals in Antitrust Dispute
The Supreme Court has rejected appeals filed by Apple and Epic Games in the two companies’ ongoing dispute.The legal fight dates back to 2020 when Epic introduced its own payment system for in-game purchases in Fortnite. The move bypassed the commission – typically between 15% and 30% – that Apple makes on virtually all in-app purchases. As a result, Apple banned Epic from its App Store.Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that its App Store and in-app payment policies violated antitrust laws.In 2021, Epic was ordered to pay damages for violating its agreement with developers and Apple was ordered to allow apps to include links to outside payment systems and other information that steered users away from its own payment system. The company never implemented the required changes and...
Substack’s moderation battle: all the latest news
Since launching in 2017, Substack has emerged as a publishing platform for writers looking to monetize their work through paid newsletters. However, as the platform has grown, so has its content. In November 2023, a report from The Atlantic revealed that while Substack’s approach to content moderation banned pornography and spam, it allowed Nazi-supporting and white supremacist newsletters on the platform, including some with paying subscribers that generated commissions for Substack. These findings led more than 200 Substack authors to sign an open letter asking why the platform is letting those newsletters publish and monetize that kind of content. Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie wrote a response saying it wouldn’t remove or demonetize Nazi content. But after Platformer founder Casey...
The AI phones are coming
/ We’re tired of tapping through apps on our phones all day. Can Samsung show us an AI tool to save us? a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is announcing new phones this week, and they’re going to be the most AI phones that ever AI’ed. That’s not a guess, although it would be an easy one coming off the heels of “Put a ChatGPT on it” CES 2024. No, Samsung is telling us in the loudest ways possible — including putting i...
